FRIDAY FIVE
Winter is a time for hot chocolate, holiday parties, and navigating way too many cringe-worthy conversations with family members whom you see only once a year. There isn’t a lack of things to talk about at the dinner table — Trump’s impeachment, the 2020 election, climate change, the country’s gun-violence epidemic, and racism in America, to name a few — it’s just that these topics can easily turn any holiday dinner into a disaster.
It’s important to confront racist family members, and there are helpful guides on how to do that (we recommend Rachel Cargle’s). However, if your conservative family members start trying to make American great again at dinner, turn the conversation around with these fun, weird facts. We recommend coupling these with wine and/or weed too—you’ll need it.
1. San Francisco’s official instrument is the accordion
If you’re traveling home for the holiday, chances are you’re often asked ridiculous questions about San Francisco. “Is there a ball pit in your startup office?” “Do you pay $3,000 to live in a dilapidated apartment with roommates?” There are a lot of stereotypes that plague SF, so why not share a random fact with them that’s true — and one that everyone can get behind? In 1990, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to make the accordion the official city instrument, though violinists did try to make a case for their own instrument. The decision was meant to represent the city’s Bohemian vibe and lift spirits after the 1989 earthquake.
2. You produce enough saliva to fill two bathtubs in one year
Drool is an appropriate dinner topic, right? It’s part of food and eating — kind of. Some might say drool is a gross dinner topic, but talking about drool is better than talking about Trump. So surprise your dinner companions with this offbeat fact: the amount of saliva each of us produces amounts to two bathtubs per year — which is just what anyone wants to hear while you’re eating. It’s enough to make anyone drool.
3. Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn
Why talk about Brexit or the recent general election in the United Kingdom—which could inspire conversations about next year’s U.S. election — when you could talk about everyone’s favorite millennial animal, the unicorn? When the mood starts to fade, just throw this little gem out there: the unicorn is Scotland’s national animal. People believed that only the kings and queens of Scotland would be able to tame the creature, so it can be found on everything from Scotland’s royal arms (which features two unicorns!) to castles to tapestries.
4. A marketer wrote “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
Never mind that reindeer are starving in the Swedish arctic because of climate change — that could bring holiday guests down. Instead, talk about the most famous reindeer of all: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (by the way, some reindeer really do have red noses). Where did he come from? What’s his story? Well, like all great holiday-themed tales, he was created by a regular man named Robert May, who worked in the ad department of Montgomery Ward. He was assigned the task of developing a story around an animal for a Christmas-themed coloring book. Sadly, his wife got cancer and died, and he turned to the creation of Rudolph to comfort his daughter because of her love for deer at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Some good things can come out of marketing campaigns.
5. Yoda and Miss Piggy are more similar than you think
One is a Jedi trainer, and the other is an aspiring actress. One is quiet and wise, and the other is loud and theatrical. What could they possibly have in common? The original voices of Yoda and Miss Piggy were from one man: Frank Oz, the veteran Muppet collaborator and voice actor. He’s also the voice behind Cookie Monster and Fozzie Bear. As you battle it out with your dinner companions on which Yoda is best — classic Yoda or baby Yoda — you can show off your Star Wars cred with this fun fact.
